Floor vents have “grill(e)s” or slatted grates defining a series of openings through the vent to allow for the desired airflow, and corresponding cross-members between the openings. Floor vents are considered decorative items and are intended to be cosmetically appealing. In addition, they may be provided with moving parts that allow for adjusting the direction and/or amount of the airflow through the vent, in which case they are called “registers.”
The sub-flooring is typically formed of plywood and the most common types of floor coverings (hereinafter “flooring”) are hardwood, engineered hardwood, laminate, carpet, tile, and “linoleum” or polyvinylchloride (PVC). Cork is also sometimes used as a flooring material.
Engineered hardwood flooring is a multi-layer product formed of multiple layers of plywood or fiberboard functioning as a “core” on top of which a real hardwood veneer is provided as a cosmetic surface layer.
Laminate flooring is a multi-layer synthetic product having a surface layer typically having the appearance of wood, but which may be provided to visually simulate other materials as well, by use of a photographic applique.
Both laminate and engineered hardwood flooring are typically relatively thin compared to hardwood flooring, the latter typically having a thickness of ¾ inch, although sometimes being provided in “thin profile” having a thickness of about 5/16 inch. Engineered hardwood typically has a thickness in the range of ⅜ to ⅝ inches, and laminate flooring typically has a thickness in the range of about ¼-½ inch. For a given thickness, neither engineered hardwood flooring nor laminate flooring is as strong as hardwood flooring.
Floor vents are often formed of metal for the sake of both appearance and strength.
For hardwood flooring, it is often considered to be a cosmetically desirable alternative to form the floor vent out of hardwood, and the same type of hardwood so that the vent matches the flooring (it may be noted that such vents typically lack the airflow adjustment feature of a register). Also, at least in the case of hardwood floor vents, it is desirable to have the floor vent be the same thickness as the flooring, to avoid the need to perform a step of routing or chiseling out the sub-flooring. Standard hardwood flooring is typically strong and thick enough to allow for this, providing for sufficiently strong grille cross-members.
Where laminate flooring is used to simulate the appearance of wood, it is also often considered desirable to use a hardwood floor vent. In such cases, it is typically necessary to stain the hardwood floor vent to match the appearance of the laminate, and the hardwood floor vent is typically thicker than the laminate, so it is also typically necessary to perform the aforementioned step of routing or chiseling out the sub-flooring.